


$50 Bets

by ThePrimeOne



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Crushes, F/M, First Kiss, Fluff, Requited Love, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-21
Updated: 2020-07-21
Packaged: 2021-03-04 20:34:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,131
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25432441
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThePrimeOne/pseuds/ThePrimeOne
Summary: "Look, all I'm saying is that bottling up feelings like that doesn't do anyone any good!" explained Sylvain.//"Oh Sothis above, what am I doing?"//Or, in which Ashe spontaneously agrees to a bet with Sylvain.
Relationships: Ashe Duran | Ashe Ubert/Petra Macneary
Comments: 2
Kudos: 43





	$50 Bets

**Author's Note:**

> I found this in my Google Drive from all the way back from last year, so I thought I might as well just throw it up, with some changes and additions here and there.

_ Oh Sothis above, what am I doing? _

Even as Ashe approached where the recently discovered apple of his eye sat, munching down on some salad between laughing a joke one of her classmates made, he felt compelled to turn back and hastily retreat to his own. Ashe peered back at the table he left, met with a mix of expressions on his friend's face. 

Dimitri and Dedue looked at him with sympathy. They had been the first two to tell him not to listen to Sylvain, and that he need not do anything.

Annette had tried to do the same, but found Ashe's crush quite endearing, gushing about it being just like one of the romance books she'd read.

Felix said he didn't particularly care, but seemed to take more interest in it than he let on when Annette got excited.

While sympathetic, Ingrid wasn't afraid to chastise Sylvain, who still was going to get what he wanted in the end.

And finally, Sylvain waved the $50 bill he'd materialised from his pocket sometime earlier. The shit-eating grin that accompanied the waving embarrassed him to no end, yet somehow motivated him to a far higher degree than he expected. 

.

.

.

When Sylvain first explained the bet, a little bit of Ashe died inside from sheer embarrassment.

"Ashe, I've seen the way you look at her. You're like a lovesick puppy!" Sylvian grinned and leaned over, pressing his cheek into the flat of his hand. "Look, I'll even give you fifty bucks too if you confess to her right now  _ and _ get her to kiss you."

"Sylvain, please, I don't like her like that," Ashe groaned, vainly hiding his red face.

Ingrid glared at him. "Sylvain, would you please stop harassing him over it? You're embarrassing poor Ashe!"

"Ingrid's right," Dimitri nodded. "Please leave Ashe be, Sylvain." 

Dedue hummed, merely replying, "I agree."

"Thank you, Dimitri, Dedue!" Ingrid slapped the table for dramatic effect.

Felix rolled his eyes while staring down at his phone but subtly diverted his attention when Annette spoke. "While I agree you should leave Ashe be Sylvain, I have to admit that it's all so very adorable."

"See?! Even Annette thinks so!" the taller redhead crossed his arms, ignoring the fact she only half agreed with him. "Look, all I'm saying is that bottling up feelings like that doesn't do anyone any good!" explained Sylvain.

Ingrid huffed. "Says the one professing his love to girls left and right. You have no feelings to bottle up."

Sylvain retorted something that Ashe tuned out. He glanced out the corner of his eye to the table on the other side of the outdoor area, where Petra sat with her friend group, intently listening to Dorothea Arnault. The young woman threw her hands into the air, clearly frustrated at something, and Petra heartily laughed at her friend's plight; Ashe lost his breath again.

There was a loud thump. Ashe didn't know whether it was his heartbeat or his hands hitting the table as he stood up. All Ashe knew is the silence that took over the table and Sylvain gasping 'oh shit!' behind him as he marched to the table.

.

.

.

Ashe shook his head, trying to stave off the knot forming in his stomach. Petra was certainly no ghost, after all. She was very much human, a girl, and undeniably cute, in his mind. They were friends, that much was true, but Sylvain was right to some extent. Thoughts of her had consumed his mind more than he'd ever admitted aloud. Even still, Ashe convinced himself she'd seen him as nothing but friends. He supposed that if she rejected him, his feelings would evaporate, and they could just pretend the silly bet had never happened and continue with their lives as if nothing happened. Perfectly rational, he concluded.

He turned away from their gazes and marched across the concrete ground to the table where his crush sat, listening intently to Dorothea and a mildly interested Edelgard and Hubert, and a distracted Bernadetta.

Ashe bit the inside of his lip. He'd rather not interrupt other people's conversations, but sparing one to move past his complicated feelings was not much to ask for, selfish as it sounded.

He shifted closer to the table, and Hubert, despite his hair covering his right eye, turned his head as if he saw him and directed his beady gaze at Ashe. The young man faltered in his step for a moment, but tried to maintain some manner of confidence, wavering a little more as Edelgard, Dorothea, then Petra herself eyed him curiously.

"Hello, Ashe. Is there something the matter?" Edelgard greeted him politely. All eyes, including Petra's, were on him now, and he seldom felt as awkward as he did at the moment under their eagle-eyed gazes. He cleared his throat.

"Ah, good afternoon Edelgard, everyone. And no, nothing's the matter- not urgently at least," Ashe trailed off, looking back at his table for a moment. "But you don't mind if I, um, steal Petra for a moment, do you? I need to talk to her about something," he said more cryptically than he intended. "You don't mind, do you, Petra?"

_ Stealing? Really? Now I just sound like a thief. _

Petra stood to her feet immediately, stuffing her lunch quickly back in her bag to everyone's surprise. "I am having time," she nodded. "Dorothea, can you be waiting to finish the story? I have a great deal of interest in it."

The older girl nodded briskly. "But, of course, Petra." Dorothea, turning her gaze to Ashe. "Don't steal her away from us for too long, okay, Ashe?" she winked.

Ashe quickly nodded and turned his back to hide his blush and tear away from his gaze from their curious gazes. Ashe led Petra away to the other side of Garreg Mach High's main building, where he was sure no one would see them, inhaling and exhaling to calm his nerves.

"Ashe? What is the matter?" Petra asked, giving voice to the curious look she'd given him earlier.

Ashe turned to face her but struggled near-instantly to maintain some semblance of eye contact with her. His eyes diverted down and away, his hands fiddling with his uniform's folds and smoothing out almost unnoticeable creases in his jacket.

_ It's now or never. _

Ashe cleared his throat and shoved his hands in his jacket pockets.

"Petra. I know this might be a little sudden, but…" he began with some measure of confidence, but trailed off suddenly, the knot in his stomach becoming almost unbearable, and the shaking of the hands hidden in his jacket pockets evident.

"...Yes?" she asked, tensing up a little. Ashe gulped and made eye contact with her again- and refused to look away.

_ "The bet's real simple!" Sylvain exclaimed, fighting back a grin. "All you gotta do is tell and ask her…" _

"I know this may be a little sudden, Petra, but... I like you, and I don't mean in a friendly kind of way. I mean  _ like  _ you. Like, maybe love? I'm not sure, but, um yeah," he confessed awkwardly.

Time seemed to freeze right at that moment; neither person had moved nor spoke for an eternity.

"...What?" Petra suddenly blurted out a second later, her jaw opening in shock.

That was not the reaction he wanted.

Ashe began to panic. "I-I'm sorry, Petra! It's just that Sylvain made a bet, and I don't know what came over me, but I felt like I had to when he said it was bad to bottle up feelings, and it made sense. I've been feeling this way about you for a while now, and if you say no, then that's okay, I'm still okay with us being friends if you want," Ashe rambled on, scrambling to explain himself.

"Ashe. Please let me respond to your feelings," the exchange student said seriously, her brows furrowed. The thumping of Ashe's heart became faster and louder (he swore it was going to leap out of his chest).

"O-okay," came a tentative reply.

"...But first, I am wondering- what was the bet?" Petra rubbed her chin.

"Ah. That," Ashe scratched the back of his neck. "Sylvain said he'd give $50 if I confessed to you and…" he mumbled the rest, Petra looking at him expectantly. 

"Yes?"

"...That and if I got you to kiss me." Ashe felt a hidden weight he didn't know he was feeling rise off his shoulders. His face burned as Petra contemplated what he revealed to her. Surprisingly, she was quiet for a few more moments longer than he expected.

"Ashe. Are you being free this weekend?" she piped up suddenly. "I would be liking to go to that all you can eat restaurant you were telling me once. Your gushing about it gives me curiosity, and I would like to go with you," she explained, going a little quieter.

Ashe felt his brain go haywire for a moment; his hopes rose as he racked his mind. "Uh, yes, I should be," he nodded. "But what does this have to do with the bet…?"

Petra wordlessly stepped forward to the young boy and placed her hands on his shoulders. Using her toes to push herself up, she nervously leaned up into Ashe, locking her shaking hands on his shoulders for extra support, 

"Ashe. May I…?"

The young boy gulped, short on breath, he responded. "Y-yes. Can I?"

Petra hummed, her heart beating like a drum against her rib cage. "Of course, you may."

She leaned up, and he leaned down, both breathlessly, and gently pressing their lips against the other, leaning into each other a little more, feeling their partner's soft lips on their own.

The chaste kiss was awkward and shorter than either would have liked, but he should have expected as such for their first kiss. Even so, it was utterly liberating for both of them. If confessing took a weight off his shoulders, the embrace evaporated any fears he held before, only replaced by utter joy and extreme red that mutually graced their faces. After Petra broke off the kiss, Ashe felt a little dizzy, but still grinned through all the overwhelming feelings.

"Petra, I…" he began to try to speak but was still utterly lost for words. Never in a million years did he think the innocent little fantasies that played in his head would come true. 

The young girl smiled; her face still alight with a blush. "In Fodlan, it is customary for the boy to be paying for the girl on dates, yes? I am understanding, but I would like to pay. But I know you will try to say no because you are a gentleman." Petra giggled. "So, instead, we can both be paying."

"Oh. That sounds fair," nodded Ashe, understanding her reasoning. Ashe's eyes then widened. "S-so, that's that? A date? On Saturday?"

"Yes, I am hoping that is the case," giggled Petra.

"O-of course! I'll message you about the details tonight, then?"

"I will be awaiting with eagerness," she excitedly agreed. Petra outwardly reached for his hand, the young man staring at it for a moment before he realised what she wanted. He repeated the motions and grasped her hands as she did the same in return. "I am happy you are feeling the same feelings as me."

"Yeah. I am too, Petra."

.

.

.

"So? How did it go? He didn't do anything strange, did he? Not that I expect Ashe to do anything strange, but you never know..." Dorothea pried as soon as Petra returned to her table.

"It was fine, I am thinking Dorothea," the Brigidese girl nodded. "I was not expecting Ashe to accept my idea that we both pay for our date, but he was showing great kindness when he was accepting." She propped up her elbow on the table, leaning her head onto her hand with a longing smile that took a quick peek at Ashe before diverting away.

Bernadetta's jaw dropped, Hubert raised a visible eyebrow, and Edelgard chuckled in amusement at Dorothea's reaction, the excitable young woman almost leaping out of her seat demanding details almost immediately.

.

.

.

With his heart bursting out of his chest, and the feeling of being cloud nine, Ashe pursed strode back to his table with confidence in spades. When Sylvain caught sight of Ashe, his grin faltered a little. 

"Oh? Did it not work out?" Sylvain frowned. "It's okay, I've been there- huh?"

Ashe silently snatched up the $50 bill and stuffed it in his pocket.

It took his friends, Sylvain chief among them a few moments to contemplate what just occurred.

Ashe couldn't hold back the shy smile formed on his face as his friends congratulated and teased him, locking eyes with a knowing Petra across the way.

**Author's Note:**

> Kudos and comments are appreciated, and I hope you all have a great day!


End file.
